30 March 2010

Some books I want


Decided that I keep forgetting what books I want so I've started taking photos of the covers so that I can remember to buy them some day when I have money.

I would like to learn more creative disciplines, amongst them jewelery. Been looking at courses but hard to find a suitable one in Christchurch! Anyhow, I leave you with these wonders.

Oh.. and also wanted to share this photo of me in a winery. Just North of Chch there are a few in the Pegasus Bay (which I think is a super cool name for a Bay). So we went exploring and ended up here. Wine (Riesling) was deliciously sweet to contrast with the strong blue cheese. A great treat!!

Bag and some other bits and pieces

(see my fabric combinations)

I have finally invested in a few cheap remnants (some as little as $2!!) to get back into making bags. I have plans to make a few but this is the first one I finished. I have got the fabric already cut for another 6. And I've finally bought eyelets and cool buttons to give them a better finished look. It is so exciting!!

This bag matches the grass and landscape of NZ, all in green tones
(hard to capture with the camera)


I decided that I should add some embroidery to some of the bags, this is my first embroidery piece, hopefully it will come out alright!!

Reorganising Bev's sewing boxes I found these gorgeous vintage needle sets which she got when she was a kid. I thought they were the coolest thing, esp the cowboys one (despite it being very boy-ish), with the 3D effect!!

This is just to make you jealous, I named it the "Chocolate Bomb", sooo yummy! with marzipan, which is something I don't usually like but it worked well here. Bev got it for me, no wonder I gained weight!! (Had my health check done and I'm 3 kg overweight, oops!)


5 March 2010

Cat friends & a few nice shots of NZ

This is Aboo, she comes to say hello everyday and brighten up my mornings. She is very friendly and playful, especially with the many white butterflies that come to visit Bev's garden (which is full of gorgeous flowers)



This is Lauren's cat but I didn't catch her name. She is so elegant, a British Blue (I thought it was a Russian cat?!), she is shy but once she gets confident, she lets you pat her and she has thick and soft fur. She looked so gorgeous on that sofa that I took numerous shots of her.



I wish I could transport the smell of this rose through the net! Is just sooooo amazing! sweet and intense but not in an overwhealming way, just beautiful! Bev usually has flowers in the house that she picks from her garden. They are all just stunning and is always nice to have fresh flowers around.

Felt mobile

Hello back! I've been absent for a while since I'm currently in New Zealand trying to settle here and I haven't got all my tools and material.

However, I couldn't stand it anymore!! I needed to do something creative and with the excuse of having to buy a gift for a newborn that I haven't met yet (well, she is already 5 months), I decided to make a mobile (I think that's how you spell mobile? ). Of course, things never come out as you planned and lack of time simplified my original idea.

Lauren & Ngaio

Ngaio is a cute wee baby, daughter of our good friend Lauren. And apparently she is already playing with the bells. The long stick can sit comfortably in the cot so it doesn't need to be attached. The bells and buttons are super-duper sawn in so that Ngaio doesn't choke with them.


You can see the original materials I was going to use in this picture. In the end I didn't use the fabric because felt is just faster to work with. I can save that for another time. I was lucky I found this great bag of buttons that I will be able to use in so many projects!!

(click to enlarge)

I hope you like the final result, the photos don't make justice to the vivid colours of the felt... seems like the camera, when having red (the big N) measures weirdly.
(detail view)

It's been a fun project :-) I'm already thinking on what next!

18 January 2010

More things I've made...

For my brother I made this set to keep warm in Chicago!! I really got into making hats as they are fun and they are quick things to make. Very useful too!

For Marlena, something different and original as she is really into fashion. This I invented.. took me foreeeever to finish it. But I like creating my own designs. The photo isn't very good to reflect the quality of the wool.


This is a beret I made for my mum, is discreet and she looks super gorgeous with it!!

Make up bag with Japanese fabrics and vintage button


And my beret! I looooooooove it! I was always scared of making hats because I thought they were super hard but they aren't!!

The luckiest woman on Earth

(hand made gorgeous retro-looking bag)

I feel so lucky. I have just received this amazing gift from my teacher-come-friend Mati who was supposed to send me just a couple of books and she decided to add something to the package. I couldn't believe my eyes! She made the entire outfits for these two gorgeous bears!!! Is all full of details, even a suspender!! And the necklace.. and the tie.. It almost made me cry out loud!! Make sure you click to view full scale!


(click on the photos to view detail)

and the great books that I highly recommend, plus some gorgeous fabric!


17 January 2010

Kids pressies with cotton & felt

This Xmas I've tried to make as many things as possible for gifting. That way I could get to be creative with someone in mind. It's been fun. Felt is such a great material to create fun things easily. I designed these things with no pattern and loved it!

This is an apron for Ella, who is 5 years old.
I really enjoyed making the strawberry pin.


And this is a mini string pack for Max, who is 2 years old.

Baby stuff


(click to zoom)

I have been reorganising old wardrobes in my parents home. I have found loooooots of my baby clothes (from booties, to little jackets, hats, even my cot's clothing!!). Amongst it all I found these super cute bibs which I found quite original! One was made by my great grandmother, she had golden fingers!! My grandmother was more into knitting and she also made me amazing stuff. I'm washing it all but once I'm done, I will upload a few samples. These are going directly to my own babies! :-) I cannot believe I was once that small!!


Also, I'm posting here some baby bibs I've made for a couple of distant nieces, Sofía and Rosie May. They are my first appliqué & quilting pieces made with cotton.


Vintage Embroidery inspiration

Lately I have got into embroidery. Well, so far I haven't done any but I am learning and reading lots about it. I went to visit my auntie and she showed me a few table cloths she made when she was young. I really like this piece because it is modern looking and it could work in 2 colours too.


Detail - click to zoom

Then, my good friend Nati invited me to join her and her mother (Manolita) to learn how to embroider "Yugoslavian stisch". Figure out! Yugoslavia isn't a country anymore so this must come from a looooong time ago.

Again, I really like this style of embroidery because it looks pretty modern and you could do this in many different colour shades. It is simple but cute.

29 October 2009

New things

It's been aaaaages since I posted anyting but then again, it's been ages since I've been back to action and producing new little goodies. It's been all about gifts I've made for my friends, I'm excited to share them with you, I'm still finding what is my strength within the crafting world and I've joined some sewing classes. Loving using my new gorgeous black sewing machine :-)

Handbag for my friend Eli, made with gorgeous plum kimono fabric,
vintage buttons, chain and silk ribbon

Eli with the bag, she seemed pleased, she is a girly girl

Bag for Vane, is reversible with big pockets inside.
Vane is a bit of a hippy and she likes dark colours.


I needed a laptop bag and didn't like any of the office executive style ones
so I made one for myself in an hour.


This is a bag for my friend Marisol, she is a colourful character with a taste for the exotic

Every handbag gift I make is been designed thinking of the person who is going to use it. That is why there are so many different styles going on here.
------------------------------
I went to Marbella to visit my best friend Mayo, who recently had a baby girl, Inés. So there I went with a couple of gifts for her and brother Miguel.

Wall hanging with pockets for baby Ines

And pockets wall hanging for her brother Miguelito